According to the General Service Administration (GSA) of Vermont, Andrew Chaves, a resident of Washington DC aged 25, was found guilty on January 28, 2025. As a result, he was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by a one-year period of supervised release.
According to court records, it has been revealed that Chaves engaged in a string of vehicle thefts spanning from November 2023 to January 2024. During this time, he managed to steal two federal government vehicles from separate locations. One of the vehicles was taken from a U.S. Forest Service facility in Manchester, Vermont, while the other was stolen from a U.S. Army facility in Lodi, New Jersey. Authorities have reported that Chaves drove these stolen vehicles across multiple states, including Vermont, and made unauthorized purchases using stolen credit cards.
Chaves, as part of his plea agreement, has agreed to pay restitution amounting to over $25,000 to the United States government and his other victims. Furthermore, he is also facing pending state charges in Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
Several law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, the U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General, the United States Forest Service, the Vermont State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Federal Protective Service, were commended for their collaborative efforts by Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher.
The prosecution of the case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Owyang, while the defense was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara Puls and defense attorney Sarah Star, Esq.